In the process of whipping cream, the agitation of the cream creates air bubbles, and the fat of the cream encases the bubbles, forming the structure of the whipped cream. According to McGee, to be able to be whipped, the cream must contain at least 30% butterfat to hold the air bubbles. To hold the air bubbles, the cream (and therefore the butterfat) must be chilled to hold the structure of the air bubbles. If you whip cream past the point at which it becomes whipped cream, the fat globules around the air collapse and the cream separates, creating butter.
Before the 1900's, whipped cream was considered a delicacy. Cooks would whip the cream by hand for more than an hour, stopping every so often to skim off the whipped parts of the cream and set it aside to drain. This process took such a long time because there was no refrigeration. The purpose of our experiment was to determine the role temperature plays in whipping cream.
Procedure
In our experiment, we first brought our Heavy Whipping Cream to the appropriate temperatures of 8 degrees C for cold and 19 degrees C for room temperature. Five 200 mL samples were to be set in a refrigerator over night so the temperature would drop. For the room temperature samples, we set each sample in a bowl that was a room temperature, and then we placed that bowl in a bowl of warm water. This caused the temperature of the cream to rise. Next, one of us whipped each sample with a hand mixer while the other timed it with a stopwatch. The hand mixer was manufactured by John Oster Mfg. with power of 115 volts, 55 watts. Once we decided that each sample was properly whipped, we measured the volume and recorded the times and characteristics of each sample.
Results
Cold
Room Temperature
Time
Description
Volume after Whipping
Time
Description
Volume after Whipping
Trial 1
2:58
stiff peaks formed; color:white; milk and cream completely blended together
350 mL
5:13
no peaks formed; color: yellow; milk and cream separated: buttery
200 mL
Trial 2
2:51
stiff peaks formed; color: white; milk and cream completely blended together
350 mL
4:27
no peaks formed; color: yellow; milk and cream almost separated; buttery
200 mL
Trial 3
2:51
stiff peaks formed; color: white; milk and cream completely blended together
350 mL
5:24
no peaks formed; color: yellow white; milk and cream completely separated; buttery
200 mL
Trial 4
2:50
stiff peaks formed; color: white: milk and cream completely blended together
350 mL
N/A
N/A
N/A
Trial 5
2:55
stiff peaks formed; color: white; milk and cream completely blended together
350 mL
N/A
N/A
N/A
As noted in our table, the test with a room temperature bowl and room temperature cream did not turn into whipped cream. During each test, the heavy whipping cream went straight to butter. However, during the second trial, the cream almost turned into whipped cream, but it wasn't fully a solid. This happened at 3:10.
Conclusions
Overall, to get to the whipped cream state, the cream must be cold. Some research showed us that because the cream must be cold to properly encase the air bubbles and hold structure, it had to be at a temperature below about 10 degrees Celsius. Therefore, the room temperature cream didn't ever whip, it went straight to the buttery state because the fat couldn't hold the structure. Because it is nearly impossible to get the room temperature cream to be exactly the same temperature, one of the trials almost reached the whipped state, but most likely warmed because of the air and didn't fully whip.As a reaction to this experiment, we think that a better test would be to determine the warmest temperature that creams with different fat contents would whip.
Table of Contents
The Effect of Temperature on Whipping Cream
Morgan, Meg
Introduction
In the process of whipping cream, the agitation of the cream creates air bubbles, and the fat of the cream encases the bubbles, forming the structure of the whipped cream. According to McGee, to be able to be whipped, the cream must contain at least 30% butterfat to hold the air bubbles. To hold the air bubbles, the cream (and therefore the butterfat) must be chilled to hold the structure of the air bubbles. If you whip cream past the point at which it becomes whipped cream, the fat globules around the air collapse and the cream separates, creating butter.Before the 1900's, whipped cream was considered a delicacy. Cooks would whip the cream by hand for more than an hour, stopping every so often to skim off the whipped parts of the cream and set it aside to drain. This process took such a long time because there was no refrigeration. The purpose of our experiment was to determine the role temperature plays in whipping cream.
Procedure
In our experiment, we first brought our Heavy Whipping Cream to the appropriate temperatures of 8 degrees C for cold and 19 degrees C for room temperature. Five 200 mL samples were to be set in a refrigerator over night so the temperature would drop. For the room temperature samples, we set each sample in a bowl that was a room temperature, and then we placed that bowl in a bowl of warm water. This caused the temperature of the cream to rise. Next, one of us whipped each sample with a hand mixer while the other timed it with a stopwatch. The hand mixer was manufactured by John Oster Mfg. with power of 115 volts, 55 watts. Once we decided that each sample was properly whipped, we measured the volume and recorded the times and characteristics of each sample.
Results
Conclusions
Overall, to get to the whipped cream state, the cream must be cold. Some research showed us that because the cream must be cold to properly encase the air bubbles and hold structure, it had to be at a temperature below about 10 degrees Celsius. Therefore, the room temperature cream didn't ever whip, it went straight to the buttery state because the fat couldn't hold the structure. Because it is nearly impossible to get the room temperature cream to be exactly the same temperature, one of the trials almost reached the whipped state, but most likely warmed because of the air and didn't fully whip.As a reaction to this experiment, we think that a better test would be to determine the warmest temperature that creams with different fat contents would whip.
References
McGee, Harold. On Food and Cooking. New York: Scribner, 2004.
University of Guelph, Whipped Cream Structure